Rail-joint



H. F. ROACH'. mm mm. wru'cmow FILED mm; 1919.

Patented N 0v. 4, 1919.

HARRY F. ROACH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 4, 1919.

Application filed January 6, 1919. Serial No. 269,819.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY F. RoAoH, a citizen of the United States,residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a rail joint of the particulartype describedin In prior U. S.

atent No. 1,258,252, dated arch 5, 1918, namely, a rail joint in whichthe rails move vertically at the ends of the joint, both upwardly anddownwardly under load, and fulcrum on the side members of the joint atseparated points in proximity to the center bolts of the joint.

The main object of my present invention is to rovide a rail joint,which, in addition to possessing all of the 00d points andcharacteristics of the rail oint described in.

my rior patent previously referred to, has the ollowing desirablefeatures which make it an improvement on my said prior joint; it can berolled; it has rail engaging surfaces which can be formed from materialthat has great wear resisting properties and it is provided withinexpensive renewable parts that receive practically all of the wear towhich the joint is subjected when the joint is in service.

Briefly described, m improved 'oint consists of two side mem rs, each 0which is composed of a renewable fulcrum member that is arranged inengagement with the rails atthe center of the joint, and a,longitudinally-disposed bar that holds said renewable fulcrum member inengagement with the rails in such a manner that it provides fulcrumpoints on which the under sides of the heads and the upper sides of thebase flanges of the rails beer at points a slight distance at eitherside of the exact center of the joint, said bar being so formed that itwill not interfere with the vertical movement of the rails at the endsofthe joint, bot-h upwardly and downwardly, when the rails fulcrum onsaid fulcrum member under load. Said bar is preferably of constant crosssection, thereby enablin it to be rolled easily, and it can be forme ofcomparatively soft metal in view of the fact that 'it is subjected torelatively little wear or abrasion when the joint is in service. The

renewable fulcrum member can either be rolled, forged or ressed and itcan be formed from material that has great wear resisting properties,such, for example, as high carbon steel, heat treated.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side'elevational view of a rail jointconstructed in accordance with my present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of said rail joint, partly in horizontalsection.

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of the joint, showing one of the sidemembers in vertical cross section.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the renewable fulcrum members;and

Figs. 5 and 6 are side elevational views, illustrating renewable fulcrummembers of slightly different form.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of myinvention, A designates two abutting rails which are embraced by the twoside menrbers of the joint, each of which side members is composed of abar B that extends longitudinally of the rails and a renewable fulcrummember C arranged at the center of the joint and combined with said barin such a manner that it will be held in engagement with the under sidesof the heads of the rails and the upper sides of the base flanges of therails.

The renewable fulcrum member C preferably conforms approximately to thefishing section of the rails and is provided with two rail engagingportions 1 and 2 that are disposed at substantially the same angles asthe under sides of the heads of the rails and the upper sides of thebase flanges of the rails. Said rail en 'ng' portions 1 and 2 areconnected toget iia by a vertical web 3 that is provided with notches 4,as shown in Fig. 4, or holes 4, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, for receivingthe center bolts 5 of the joints. The web 3 can be of the same or lessthickness as the rail engaging portions 1 and 2,. as the only functionthat said web performs is to hold the rail engaging portions 1 and 2 inproper s aced relation and revent said member from moving longitudinallyin either direction. The bar B is so shaped that when it is firstarranged in engagement with the renewable member C, the rail en gaginportions 1 and 2 of said member will hold e bar in such a osition withrelation to the rails that the en portions of said bar will be spacedaway from the webs of the 110 tions 1 and 2 said portions,

rails before the end bolts 6 of the joint are tightened. l

0 install the joint the renewable {fulcrum members C are first arrangedat the opposite sides of the ra'ls at the center of the joint and thebar B are then inserted between the rail engaging portions 1 and 2 ofthe lrenewable member C. The center bolts 5 are then tightened so as todraw the bars B into snug engagement with the rail en 'ng portions 1 and2 of the arts C, an t ereafter the end bolts 6: of t e joint are tihtened so as to draw the end portions of t e bars B inwardly intoengagement with the webs of the rails, as shown 1n Fig. 2. The 'centerportions of the bars B are prevented? from moving inwardly toward therails by the engagement of 'the upper and lower edges of said bars withthe rail en ging portions 1 and 2 on the renewable fu crum members C.Consequently, when the end bolts 6 of the joint are tightened, the barsB will bow out slightly at the center of the joint, as shown in Fig. 2,thereby causing said bars to exert pressure on the rail engaging porofthe members C at the ends of said members, and consequently, producing aslight relief between the bars B and the rail engaging portions 1 and 2at the center of the joint. In other words, the operation of ti hteningthe end boltsfi causes the bars B to orce the ends of the rail engagaingportions 1 and 2 into snug engagement with the heads and base flan es ofthe rails, thereby causing the rails to lcrum on the ends of the railengaging surfaces 1 and 2 of the renewable fulcrum member C insubstantially the same manner that the rails fulcrum on the railengaging surfaces of the. side members of the oint described in my priorpatent previously referred to. The upper and lower edges of the bars Bof course bear against the rail engaging portions 1 and 2 throughout theentire length of said rail engagin portions, but the actual fulcrumpoints 0 the rails on the portions 1 and 2 are at the ends of due to thefact that when the ends of the bars B are drawn inwardly sufficiently tobow out the center, portions of said bars, a slight relief will beprovided between said bars and the intermediate portions of the railengaging surfaces 1 and 2 on which the extreme ends or the rails bear.While I have herein shown the rail engaging portions 1 and 2 of thejoint constructed in such a manner that they contact with the heads andbase flanges of the rails throughout the entire length of said portions,it will, of course, be obvious that the rail engaging portion 1 and 2could be so constructed that they would not bear against the terminalsor extreme ends of the rails. I prefer to construct the renewablefulcrum members C in the manner herein terminals of 'rails, each of saidillustrated, however, because such a design simplifies the operation ofmanufacturing the joint and it is as eflicient as a design in which therail engaging portions 1 and 2 are of such shape that they do notcontact dicectly with the terminals of the rails.

A- rail joint of the construction above described. permits the wavemotion of the rails throughout the track to be continued uniform]through the joints of the track; it provi es a slight relief for theterminals or extreme ends of the rails at the center of the joint,thereby reducing the stiffness of the portions of the rails that areembraced by the side members of the joint; it can be manufactured at alow cost, owing to the fact that the bars B can be rolled and therenewable fulcrum members C can either be rolled, forged or pressed; itis of such design that the rail engaging surfaces ofsame can be formedof high carbon steel or other metal that has great wear resistingproperties and it can be maintained in a highly efiicient condition,with minimum trouble and expense, owing to the fact that the onlyportions'of same which are subjected to severe wear are the renewablefulcrum members C. When the joint is in service there is practically noslippage between the bars B and the fulcrum member C. Consequently, thebars B can be used indefinitely, as they are subjected to little or nowear when the joint is in service.

In instances where the center bolts of the joint are spaced relativelyfar apart, the web of the renewable fulcrum member 0 is provided withlateral extensions, as shown in Fig. 5, equipped with holes 4* throughwhich the center bolts pass.

I preferi to form member O in one piece, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, but,if desired, the renewable fulcrum member can be composed of twohorizontally-divided sections 7, as shown in Figi 6.

avin g thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is:

1. A rail joint provided with side members that are arranged on oppositesides of the rails each of said side members being com use of arenewable fulcrum member havlng portions that bear against the heads andbase flanges of the rails, and a bar or member that holds said fulcrummember in engagement with the rails in such a manner that a slightrelief is provided at the center of the joint for the extreme ends orterminals of the rails. 1

2,, A rail joint provided with side members that are arranged onopposite sides of the side members being composed of a renewable fulcrummember having portions that bear against the heads and base flanges ofthe rails, and a bar or memthe renewable fulcrum I an au her that holdssaid part in engagement with the rails in such a manner that the railswill fulcrum on said fulcrum member at points in proximity to thecenter'bolts of the joint.

3. A rail joint, comprisin side members arranged on opposite sides 0 therails, each of said side members being composed of a renewable fulcrummember having rail engagin portions that bear against the unersi es ofthe heads and the upper sides of the base flan esof the rails, and a barfor member combined: with said renewable fulcrum member in such a mannerthat when the end bolts of the joint are tightened the ends of said railenga ing portlons will be forced. into suflicientgr snug engagement withthe rails to form fulcrum points for the rails located at either side ofthe center of the joint.

4. A rail joint, comprising side members arranged on opposite sides ofthe rails and each composed of a renewable fulcrum member having rail enaging portions whose ends bear against t e heads and the base flanges ofthe rails and form fulcrum points for the rails at points in proximityto the center bolts of the joint, and a bar or member for holding saidrenewable fulcrum member in position, constructed in such a manner thatit does not interfere with the vertical movement of the rails upwardlyand downwardly when the rails fulcrum on said fulcrum member under load.

5. A rail joint, comprising side members arranged on opposite sides ofthe rails and each composed of a renewable fulcrum member having railengaging portions which bear against the under sides of the heads andthe top sides of the base flanges of the rails, and a bowed bar ormember for holding said renewable fulcrum member in position, the endportions of said bar being spaced away from the heads and base flangesof the rails, for the purpose described.

6. 'A rail joint member, comprising a fulcrum member provided with railen ging portions that bear against the hea s and the base flanges of therails, and a longitudinally-disposed bar or member combined with saidfulcrum member in such a manner that when the end bolts of the joint aretightened the intermediate portion of said bar will be bowed out at thecenter of the joint, thereby causing the bar to force the ends of saidrail engaging portions into sufficiently snugengagement with the headsand base flanges of the rails to form fulcrum points for the railslocated far enough away from the center of the joint to provide a slightrelief for the terminals of the rails.

7. A rail joint member composed of a fulcrum member adapted to bearranged at the center of the joint and provided with rail engagingportions that cooperate with the heads and base flanges of the rails,and a longitudinally-disposed bar or. member inrposed between said railen a 'ng port ons and so designed that it W1 1 e spaced far enough awayfrom the webs of the rails to cause the center ortion of said bar to bowout when the and tightened, thereby causin the rail engaging portions onsaid fu crum member to bear against the rail in such a manner that aslight relief is provided for the terminals of the rails when the 'ointis in service.

8. A rail joint mem er, comprising a renewable fulcrum member thatconforms a proximately to the fishin section of t e rails and which isadapts to be arranged at the center of the joint between the heads andbase flanges of the rails, and a bar or member adapted to be arrangedlongitudinally of the rails with its intermediate por-.

tion bowed outwardly and its upper and lower edges bearing againstportions on said renewable fulcrum member that'cobolts of the joint areolperate with the heads and base flanges of t e rails to form fulcrumsfor the rails,

said bar being so designed that it will not contact with the heads andbase flanges of the rails at the ends of the joint when the railsfulcrum on said fulcrum member.

9. A renewable fulcrum -member for rail joints, consisting of a memberadapted to be arranged at the center of the joint at one side of therails and provided at its up er edge with a rail engagin portion of esslength than the distance tween the and bolts of the.joint thatcoiiperates with the heads of the rails.

10. A renewable fulcrum member for rail joints of the type referred to,consisting of a member of ess length than the joint adapted to be arrand in engagement with the under sides of t e heads of the rails inproximity tothe center bolts of the joint.

11. A renewable fulcrum member for rail. joints, of the type referredto, consisting of a member of less length than the distance between theend bolts of the joint ,and provided at its upper side with a railengaging portion that forms fulcrum points the rails located adjacentthe center bolts of the joint.

12. A renewable fulcrum member for rail joints, of the type referred to,consistin of a member of less length than the joint, adapted to bearranged at the center of the joint at one side of the rails andprovided with rail engaging ortions that cooperate with the heads andase flanges of the rails to form fulcrum ointsfor the rails located inproximity to t e center bolts of the joint.

13. A renewable fulcrum member for rail joints of the ty e referred to,consisting of amember of su stanti'ally channel shape in vertical crosssection that is ada ted to be arranged at the center of the joint at oneside of the rails, the flanges at the upper and lower edges of said railengaging portions whose ends nate in proximity joint.

member constituting termito the center bolts of the 14. A. renewablefulcrum member for rail joints of the type a member posed web 1: latextends of the rails of the join portions on said web the heads andbaseflen rail engaging portions referred to, consisting of rovided witha vertically-disparallel to the webs t, and rail engaging1 thatcooperate wit es of the rails, said eing of less length then thedistance between the end bolts of the joint. A renewable fulcrum memberfor rail jomts of the ty referred to, consisting f a honzontallyividedmember adapted to be arran 7 d at the center of the joint at one side oft e rails and provided with rail enaginJ portions of less length thanthe disanee etween the end bolts of the 'oint that cooperate with theheads and base anges of the rails. V

' HARRY F. ROACH.

Correcuons in Letters Patent No 1,320.572.

It is horoby oertifioo that in Letters Potent No. 1,320,572, gnntodNovember 4, 1919, upon the applicot ion of Hang F. Roach, of St. Louis,Missouri, for an improvement in Rail-Joints, arrors aiapear in theprinted specification requirin con-action as follows: Page 2, line 8,for the word "member .read members; page 3, line 74,"cloim 7, for theword "rail read rails; and that the said Letters Potont should be readwith these corrections theroin that the some mo ooniorm to the record ofthe cm in the Pltolit Signed ma sob lied this 25th doy of November, A.D., 1919.

M. H. COULSTON, Acting Comiuioner of Patonta.

